Category Archives: Bulletin Board

news of interest to our community

Ants: Kill Them With Kindness

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Ants are active in South Florida all year round due to mild weather conditions. Keeping ants out of your RV can be a challenge. No one likes to find ants in the sugar bowl, crawling along baseboards, or leaving behind carcasses in light fixtures.

It’s a hard fact that if you see one, you probably have many, and they aren’t giving up the free rent that easily. It’s time to get tough on ants, but you don’t have to use toxic chemicals!

1. Death by Scratching. Diatomaceous Earth is an inexpensive non-toxic powder that sticks to their feet and legs and makes its way into the exoskeleton of the ant. The dust’s tiny jagged edges work like broken glass to scratch open and dry out an ant’s body. As an ant killer, it is cheap, safe for pets and kids, and effective on other bugs too. It works on roaches, fleas, bed bugs, and most creepy crawlies. Use a powder duster to get into those deep pockets and cracks and wear gloves to keep it off your skin. As bugs move across the powder, it sticks to their feet and legs only to get into their joints and exoskeleton. The particles are jagged and so it works like broken glass to scratch the insect’s body then dries it out. While it is not poisonous, it is an irritant. Avoid breathing in diatomaceous earth or getting it on your skin. Be patient, it’s not instant death but super effective.

2. Bonked by Borax. Another ground mineral that’s a natural ant killer is borax. In this case, when the ants eat the borax, it interferes with their digestive system. Unfortunately, it is not an instant killer either. Worker ants take the borax bait back to the colony for the other ants to eat, eventually eliminating the queen ant and the rest of the colony. Ants aren’t enticed by borax, so to get them to take the bait, mix it 50/50 with sugar and place the mixture along probable ant trails.

3. Boil the Queen. Really. If you can locate the ant colony and the queen that lives there, why use chemicals at all? Just follow the ant trail holding a pot of boiling water carefully and pour it over the hills. Repeat if needed. You will not be popular with the ant colony but you will have used a chemical-free method to take back your RV from the ant invaders.

4. Make ‘em Stiff. When you spot a parade of ants using an ant trail, sprinkle dry cornstarch on their legs or put it in their path where they will be forced to walk through it. Wait 24 hours. Then take our spray bottle of water and spray all visible ants. The cornstarch and water act like cement. The ants can no longer walk, so they just die. Just sweep them away after a few hours. You can use this method on groups of ants too. 

5. Seduce Them. Essential oils may smell seductive to us, but they repel ants – and some even kill them. Peppermint oil sprayed on door frames and windows naturally repel pests and Tea Tree Oil is specific to killing ants. Just pour a little scented oil onto a cotton ball and lay them around where ants hang out. At least your RV will smell great while you soldier on to save your home from invasion!

There are certain ants in Florida that need pest control efforts. Here’s the list:
these ants can sting Denotes the ability to sting

  • Big Headed Ants
  • Carpenter Ants
  • Fire Antsthis ant can sting
  • Ghost Ants/Sugar Ants
  • Pharaoh Ants
  • Twig Antsthis ant can sting
  • White Footed Ants
  • Velvet Ants/Cow Killer Antsthis ant can sting

For a guide to the various species of ants in Florida, how to control them using natural methods, and how to identify the ones that bite, visit Port St. Lucie’s pest control Green Pest Services.

Our Hometown Gets a Makeover

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Hobe Sound is a small, mostly residential town of locals who prefer the quiet, “old Florida” look and feel, and like to know the names of the local business owners. But “going downtown” in Hobe Sound has, in the past, been defined as parking in the huge Winn-Dixie parking lot and heading out on foot along old sidewalks in need of repair. But that’s all changing right now.

Downtown Hobe Sound is in the home stretch of an 18+ month dramatic redevelopment project along Bridge Road that connects US Highway 1 (where Floridays is located) to A1A, locally known as Old Dixie Highway. In fact, US Hwy 1 is Floridays’ front door, and Old Dixie Highway is our back door. 

For years, Hobe Sound has been trying to update their town’s usability without losing it’s small-town charm. It looks as though they are about to succeed! Improvements include brick pavers, new trees and planter areas, spacious sidewalks, better parking — all pedestrian-friendly from US Hwy 1 to A1A.

The local businesses are doing their share too! Excited for their future, many local Bridge Road businesses are making storefront improvements in a huge effort to attract new visitors and better support the locals.

If you’re staying with us right now or plan to, take a stroll down Bridge Road to see how a small town can come together to inspire local pride. Drop in on our local shopkeepers like Dawn at Village Bicycle where you can rent a bike or paddle-board, Joyce at Joyce Herb Flooring to talk flooring, curtains and blinds, Chrissy at Dusted Off Pretty for hand-crafted home accessories, Tammy at Clothes Mentor for high quality gently used women’s fashions, and George or Jan at Hobe Sound Beach Shop for custom tees, seashore-inspired clothing, souvenirs, and even flip-flops made from recycled tires. Alongside Winn-Dixie Plaza on the stroll back to Floridays, stop in at Courtney’s for ice cream or The Grove for real Italian pizza.

How Floridays Stacks Up

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Camper Report recently published an article on the 10 Most Common Complaints Against RV Parks. We thought you might want to see how Floridays stacks up.

First, a little background. Floridays was never a “brand new” park for us. We purchased what was know as the Angle Inn Mobile Court in the autumn of 2010 — and it was an eyesore! But our location in one of the last remaining “old Florida” small towns along US Federal Hwy 1 made it an easy decision. Right away we got to work tearing out invasive plants species and replacing it with young oak trees and native vegetation to create year-round shade for the RV pads. In 2017, we added the washhouse with separate bathrooms and showers for ladies and men and a laundry facility with brand new washers, dryers and folding tables. Our 2017 videos of the Washhouse buildout have great aerial shots of the park.

We erected birdhouses to attract Purple Martin swallows, updated our Wi-Fi and electrical boxes, added a secure covered mailroom, and much more. We aren’t fancy, just honest.

So how does Floridays stack up to Camper Report’s top 10 complaints?

  1. Not enough space. We have 84 sites well spaced for privacy and all with pads.
  2. Bad attitudes from staff and owners. We never discriminate and have an on-site full-time park manager with tons of experience.
  3. Bad electric hookups. Our pedestals are correctly wired, have surge protectors, and are routinely checked.
  4. Gross water. Florida water quality in Martin County is considered reliable with high standards for excellence. Check it out here.
  5. Dirty bathhouses and common areas. Our bathhouses could be considered “fancy” because they are large and new. Common areas are well-maintained, but not “fancy.”
  6. Neighbor problems. We’re not a permanent residence park; maximum stay is six months. Most of our guests return year after year, know one another, and enjoy campfires, cookouts, and leisure time together.
  7. Un-level sites. Parking surfaces are designed to be flat. 
  8. Mud, sand, and dirt. The park has a moderate grade for good drainage, and seasonal Florida rains are quickly absorbed by our sandy soil. Most of our roadways are paved which helps maneuvering around the park and prevents erosion. Outdoor rugs are encouraged.
  9. Bug issues. We routinely spray for ants and Martin County sprays for mosquito control. 
  10. Feeling unsafe. Both the Hobe Sound community at large, and the Floridays community specifically, are close-knit and look out for one another.

Have you stayed with us? Be sure to let us know how we are doing by leaving a review on our Facebook page.

Boat Parades Near Floridays

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There’s nothing like a beautiful boat parade to put south Floridians into the Christmas spirit. It just so happens that Hobe Sound is fairly equal distance to boat parade in Martin County to the north, and Palm Beach County to the south.

Christmas fun waterside

North Boat Parade – Martin County

The Annual Martin County Boat Parade is Saturday, December 8, beginning at the Jensen Beach Causeway at 6:00 PM. The Parade route will  proceed by Sandsprit Park, into the Manatee Pocket, and ending at the Twisted Tuna Restaurant around 8:00 PM where the winners will be announced.

South Boat Parade – Palm Beach County

The 25th Annual Palm Beach Holiday Boat Parade is December 7, led by a Zambelli traveling fireworks display that navigates up the Intracoastal Waterway from North Palm Beach to the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. Sit and see the parade from Juno Park, Burt Reynolds Park, Waterway Park, Sawfish Bay Park, Jupiter Riverwalk, Harbourside Place and Lighthouse Park.

Big Chair—Appreciation of Floridays

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Floridays RV Park wasn’t always the safe, friendly community it is today. Nine years ago, Mike and Susan Graham purchased the “Angle Inn Mobile Court” in Hobe Sound, a run-down eyesore with only one outstanding feature…the welcoming, industrious mobile park Manager, George Vryhof and his wife Sandi. 

Managing Angle Inn had been a nightmare—no budget and an uncaring owner unwilling to make improvements. But things changed under the Grahams’ ownership. Today the park thrives with a new brand, large spacious pads, new bathhouse, new laundry facilities, secure mailroom, and an active social scene during the winter season. For all these reasons, the Vryhofs wanted to show their appreciation to the Grahams. 

While boondocking in the Florida Keys, George and Sandi discovered the colorful wooden Adirondack chairs by the Key Largo Adirondack Company and the idea was born to build the world’s largest Adirondack chair as a gift to park owners Mike and Susan.

The chair would be huge—maybe the largest in the world. And George would have help from Canadian residents over-wintering at Floridays—all first class craftsmen: 

Harold and Julia Post, Gervais and Suzanne Roy, and Bruno and Claudette Arseneau are friends and neighbors from the small village of Beresford, New Brunswick, Canada. Beresford is a seaside community on Chaleur Bay, one of the most beautiful bays in the world. They winter in Hobe Sound at Floridays RV Park and are often seen rushing over to help George with this or that task, whether it be shoveling dirt or any of the daily tasks needed to maintain the park grounds. 

Their plan to build “the largest adirondack chair in the world” was downsized after discovering that honor goes to a 26 foot chair! But the 8-foot-tall chair they did build took only three days to cut, form, prime and paint thanks to other Floridays residents such as Larry Bourgaize from Canada and Greg Lutzen from Connecticut who also pitched in to help.

When the chair was ready, except for the Floridays logo that will added later, residents gathered next to the park office to await the arrival of Mike and Susan who had been surreptitiously called to the park on a sunny Saturday morning on January 12, 2019, to receive “a gift” from George and Sandi in appreciation for their commitment to Floridays.

The following photos commemorate the unveiling of The Big Chair. Video of the unveiling, and Mike and Susan joyfully sliding onto the chair, are on our Facebook page.

To reserve a stay at Floridays, register well in advance on our website or call George at (772) 546-5060.

adirondack covered
Before the big reveal
Grahams sitting in chair
Susan and Mike try it out
Vryhof, Grahams, and the Canadians
Mike & Susan; Sandi & George